Tonight
by foxtrotelly
Summary: Come, come ghost. Come, come ghost… But alone below the starry skies, don’t make me wait in vain… because somewhere out there, underneath these stars, I hope you’re dreaming of me too.


Here's a short one from me with referrals to chapters 28, 41, and Omake ~ Mikan's Childhood. (: This one ain't got romance or anything because I've always wanted a story that focused on mother and daughter alone. Hope you like it. (:

_**Disclaimer: **Gakuen Alice copyright © Tachibana Higuchi, 2003_

_Dedicated to: Tearless Sonnet, Romantically Loveless, and missyJuliette :)_

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**Tonight**

_**by foxtrotelly**_

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"_Grandpa, what's a lantern festival?"_

"_Hmm… A lantern festival is an event where we celebrate for our ancestors since it is believed that while we're having the festival, the souls of our ancestors are going back here on earth."_

"_Grandpa, just recently, you said that my real father and mother were far away in the sky, so does that mean that they've died already?"_

_**When I asked him about my mom and dad… Grandpa told me they were both on the other side of the sky. But I wonder… if my mom and dad are worrying about me like that right now… I wonder… if they're… aching to hug me like that from the other side of the sky…**_

_**When I think that and look at the starry sky… my heart feels almost… like it could break.**_

_Because somewhere out there, underneath these stars, I know you're dreaming of me too._

_Ghosts. Come, come, ghosts. Father, from the starry skies, come to me._

I draw my knees to my chest and gently rock myself to calm down. It's been about an hour since I left Jii-chan and the others, and yet to me, it feels like I've been here for such a long time already.

The wind picks up and I shiver involuntarily from the cold. I take note of my pretty kimono and warm socks, now uncomfortably damp, that squish every time I move, and my wooden slippers that now sit beside me together with the two fun bags I got from earlier, all caked in mud.

These dares were things Jii-chan considered impudent. I'd get a spanking from him, but something tells me that was supposed to be the least of my worries. Right now my mind screams it's best to run back home, while another voice in the howling wind, however, whispers that I should take time to sit here, under the starry night sky.

But there was something more in the other one that made me choose the latter, anyway.

I glance up at the sky, feeling lonely at the same time.

A ton of stars that look like scattered glitters on heaven's floors speckle and dot the night sky (mighty good for them; never getting lonely with millions of their brothers and sisters by their side every night – how I'd be really happy if that was the same for me too). Hanging right above a faraway tree was a thin, crescent moon that cast a faint silver glow on the landscape; their guide for the night. Leaves from behind me rustle as if someone had moved, while I could swear that I hear the muffled rattling of chains and a wolf's lonesome howl in the distance. I shudder.

Anyhow, I came here to prove myself, not to get scared.

Yet strangely enough, I wasn't scared of the ghosts that were rumored to lure naughty children in and eat their heads off, because for one thing, it weren't the scary monsters that brought the tears streaming down my cheeks.

Figures I was just afraid to be alone.

Questions start to bug my mind.

Were they dreaming of me, wishing they were with me tonight? Could I find them there, up above in the midnight sky? Did they think of me when they left this world? Better yet, did they even love me when they thought of leaving me behind?

And right now, as I look for them from behind those twinkling stars, were they actually aching to hold me in their arms too?

My eyelids droop as I let myself reach out towards the sky and trace the stars' outlines with my finger. I yawn for a second, my thoughts slurring as I fight to stay awake. Eventually, my arm drops right back down to hug my knees tighter. I bring a thumb to my cheeks to wipe off some of my tears, humming tunelessly all the while so that I could feel a bit of comfort, away from my friends, Jii-chan, and my father and mother.

But to no avail, a dull pain still manages to twinge my chest, slowly lulling me to a peaceful sleep…

_I won't be scared so… Mother…? Please come out…_

…

My vision blurs, my thoughts haze, and before I could even know it, I crash on soft, damp earth. Thank God. I roll over on my back, and slightly groan when my arm aches, broken as I remember, along with the leaves that slightly rustle with my sudden movement. My head throbs from where I hit it on the marble foyer while my leg stings unpleasantly from the ugly gash that got stabbed with a knife from earlier.

I lie still for a few minutes, letting the soreness I felt throughout my entire body subside by a bit, wincing mutely now and then. Abruptly, I sit up when panic suddenly starts to register and I'm made aware of the fact that I'm lost in the middle of nowhere with a fractured arm bone, possibly a skull too, and a bleeding leg at that. I try to rack my brains and vaguely recall Shiki pushing me into that wormhole that opened up right below the crystal chandelier, telling me to teleport back to headquarters as soon as I can.

Save for the splitting migraine and the severe concussions, I feel piercing sensations at all the places that were cut open and bleeding. My breath comes out in ragged huffs as I bend over and tear a loincloth I retrieved from my pocket with my teeth and one hand. Afterwards, I bandage the gash that ran through my left calf to my ankle. I grimace in pain all the while, tears welling up at the corner of my eyes.

No. I promised myself I wouldn't cry. Not over these petty reasons – not even over them. Not ever.

From above me, I look at the sky, a stretch of midnight blue canvas glimmering with a countless number of stars twinkling away in the night, feeling awfully lonely.

A sob breaks out from my lips.

"_Father… Mother…"_

A quiet mumble catches me off guard. I peak through the shrubs and crane my neck to get a better view of where the voice came from.

My eyes widen. It was a little girl, who seemed to be sleeping. I look around. There were no houses in sight, so she must be from a town nearby.

But what was she doing in this kind of place at this late hour, anyway?

"Father… Where are you?"

An aching throb in my sore neck and shoulders forces me to retreat back on the bushes in agony. After steadying myself, I coerce myself to take a few more steps forward just to keep the poor little girl in plain sight. Though it wasn't a good idea to bring her into the nearest town somewhere, I knew it was best if I kept my distance and simply watched over her to make sure she was free from harm – no matter how much my thoughts reverted to keeping _myself_ safe for that fact.

"Mother… Wherever you are, come out, please."

I blink for a while. Subconsciously, I feel myself limp to where the girl sat, giving away my hiding place. Beads of cold sweat roll down my face, making each and every swipe of my hand a hard challenge to accomplish. I feel every bone in my body protesting as I push myself to go further, making every step more difficult to make than the previous. I respire in and out hoarsely, every breath a struggle to my burning lungs.

I eventually got there, and now stand, panting for dear life, in front of a girl that looked almost twenty years my junior.

_She's almost the same age as Mikan._

Having a look at her, I feel my heart break.

I take note of her orange kimono and short brunette pigtails and notice her big doe-like eyes set into a round, rosy face.

_I always dreamed of dressing my little Mikan in the most delightful clothes: light cotton dresses with colorful crocs in the summer and warm coats with cozy rosettes in the winter, and fixing her hair in two pigtails everyday with the prettiest bows and ribbons._

"Mother… Please hold me, I'm scared."

_More than anything, I wanted so much to hold her in my arms on nights like this and cuddle and embrace her like there was no tomorrow._

No, I think to myself. This couldn't happen. I take to hardening my heart and blocking out the surge of emotions threatening to overpower me at the moment.

_I'm so sorry Mikan._

I kneel down in front of her, despite the many attempts of my inner sanity to hold me back. In one swooping movement, I sweep her chestnut brown hair away from her face and gently run a finger down a tear-stained cheek, and in a hushed whisper, say, "Don't worry, sweetie, Mother's here."

_I really should have eliminated you from the depths of my heart, but the feelings that should be long gone are still… welling out._

"Mother…" The girl smiles, her closed eyes fluttering at the slightest bit.

My hand balks.

"I'm a very lucky mother, having such an adorable daughter like you."

_I really love you, Mikan._

The girl smiles once more, still asleep, but with a slight unevenness to her breathing already.

And with that, I was gone.

"_So you were in a place like this, Mikan. You've made me worry, it's already been an hour since we started looking for you."_

"_Grandpa…"_

"_What, what's the matter? Are you hurt? Did you see any ghost? It's because you've joined in something like a test of courage…"_

"_That's not it… I wasn't scared of the ghost. I really wasn't scared..."_

_Come, come ghost. Come, come ghost… But alone below the starry skies, don't make me wait in vain…_

**~ FIN~**

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Fufufu, was that too weird? D:

Do tell. :)

_Neeh, R-E-V-I-E-W?_


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